Chapter 5 The Monarchs Shadowed Claim

Adrian Chapman stood at the edge of the sector on Floor 1. The sky was a red and it felt like it was pushing down on him. The city was a mess after they had cleared it. The streets were now narrow and full of things that wanted to hurt them. Every time they did something in the Tower it helped the power system. Adrian wanted to use this to his advantage. He knew that if they finished Floor 1 they would get some rewards.. They had to be the best to get them.

He looked at the partys status.

Name: Adrian Chapman

Rank: Mid D (47% to High D)

**Class: Shadow Enforcer (Abyss Tyrant Hidden Path: 19% **

Core Ability: Sin Authority. Devour (Efficiency: 1.7x, memory absorption now includes tactical floor patterns)

Skills: Intermediate Shadow Manipulation, Shadow Step (cooldown 18 seconds) Shadow Veil (50 seconds) Hunger Command (60 seconds control) Devour Pulse (scan range 170 meters) Basic Curse Resistance upgraded to Intermediate

Stats: Strength 68 Agility 82 Mana 139 Vitality 59 Perception 64

The numbers showed that they were doing well. Each time Adrian used Devour he got stronger. His friends Tobias and Thomas had also gotten stronger with him. Elio helped them by making food that gave them power. They all worked together to get ahead.

" big group of enemies ahead " Adrian said. "The floor is going to get harder. We need to work to finish it. Tobias keep track of the enemies. Thomas do the math to help us. Elio make some food to help us."

Tobias started tracking the enemies. "I see them, brother. There are 57 enemies and 8 strong ones with some power from the Monarch. They are working together because of our rank."

Thomas adjusted his gloves. "My math shows that we need to be careful. If we can take out the enemies first it will be easier. This will help us get to the rank."

Elio smiled as he made some food. "My food is ready. It will help you recover and stay strong for a while."

They ate the food quickly.

Party Buff Applied: Mana recovery percent, Vitality drain resistance +18 percent for 40 minutes.

Then they went into battle. The enemies came at them. They were ready. Adrian used his shadow powers to take out the enemies. He felt strong and in control.

Devour x6: Strength +11, Mana +19 fragment: Monarch Trace Sense (detects Floor Monarch influence within 300 meters). Rank progress percent.

Adrian felt good about what they had done. He was happy that they were working together. Tobias was hitting the enemies from the spots. Thomas was using his math to help them. Elio was making food that helped them.

The battle was intense.. They worked together and used their powers to win.

Wave Cleared Notification: Floor 1 Hunger Sector Complete. Party efficiency: Exceptional. Shared experience bonus: 1200 points. Floor adaptation slowed by 40 percent due to dominance.

A big chest appeared. Adrian took the item, a Cursed Shadow Core. He used it to get stronger.

Integration: Abyss Tyrant Path unlocked at 27 percent. New ability: Shadow Dominion (control shadows in 40 meter radius for 90 seconds).

The others got some items too. Tobias got a tracker. Thomas got some math tools. Elio got some ingredients for his food.

"Lets talk about our stats " Adrian said. "I want to put my points into Mana and Perception. This will help me use my powers better."

Tobias said, "I want to put my points into Vitality and Agility. This will help me track the enemies better."

Thomas said, "I want to put my points into Mana and Perception. This will help me do my math better."

Elio said, "I want to focus on utility. My food helps the party. I want to make it better."

They. Made a plan. Adrian explained what he knew about the power system. "If we get to the rank we can get some special powers.. We need to be careful. There are people who want to stop us."

They went to the exit staircase.. Then they sensed something. A strong Monarch scout had appeared.

"Get ready " Adrian said. "This will be a fight. We need to work."

The Monarch scout was big and strong.. They were ready. Adrian used his powers to control the shadows. Tobias used his tracker to find the spots. Thomas used his math to help them. Elio used his food to make them stronger.

The battle was intense.. They worked together and won.

Devour Success: Strength +18, Mana +27, Vitality +15, Perception +12. New skill: Sovereign Hunger Pulse (area drain on enemies 45 seconds). Class advancement: Shadow Enforcer to Shadow Sovereign (Abyss Tyrant Path 41 percent). Rank Up: High D achieved.

Adrian felt strong and happy. They had done it. They had beaten the Monarch scout. Gotten to the next rank.

Stats Recalibrated: Strength 89 Agility 94 Mana 178 Vitality 76 Perception 79.

They got some items and rewards. Adrian got a dagger that made his powers stronger. The others got some items too.

"We did it " Adrian said. "We are one step closer to our goal. We need to keep working and getting stronger."

Tobias said, "We are doing great, brother. We just need to keep going."

Thomas said, "I agree. We have a plan and we are working together."

Elio said, "And we have food. That helps a lot."

They went to the floor ready, for the challenges ahead.

Devour x8 on patrols: Cumulative Strength +14, Mana +23. Progress toward C rank threshold begins.

The way they worked together said a lot about how they felt. Adrian was still really mad. That anger was driving him to make smart decisions to move forward because he wanted to stop people from betraying them again. Tobias was very loyal. Helped out in many ways. Thomas was really good with machines. Elio came up with ideas that worked.

Things started to get really intense near the hub. Scouts told them that Henry Sheldon was making alliances outside and talking bad about people who used shadows without control. This made some old friends remember things from the past. The Tower was changing more and making strong patrols because of how well they were doing.

Adrian talked to the group at a place. "We will make our base here. We will try to get people who are not part of a group to join us from Black Eden. The people with the information and powerful things have the most power. Tomorrow we will make sure we have the hand on Floor 2."

Tobias said he agreed. "If we work together like brothers we can handle anything that comes our way. We will be stronger, than people who are not really trying to help."